KUALA LUMPUR – Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun blew his top after opposition MPs continuously questioned the controversial two-day suspension issued against Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (Pasir Salak-BN).
The brief shouting match followed Azhar’s ruling that Deputy Speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon’s suspension order against Tajuddin stands.
Addressing the lower House today, Azhar lashed out against various MPs who repeatedly demanded for their grouses on the matter to be heard.
“I have been fair (on the issue). If you do not like my ruling, then you can file for a review. Do not accuse me of protecting (any party). I have heard you out,” he said.
Appearing to reach the end of his patience, he then banged his gavel once befores shouting: “Do you want to go out now?! I am not here to answer your questions!”
Prior to his outburst, the speaker said he was unaware of Rashid’s call to issue a two-day suspension on Tajuddin, which was why he had allowed Tajuddin to remain in the hall for proceedings.
“I was in charge of the voting for the motion on the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 but I was not informed of the suspension. If I had known, I would not have allowed Tajuddin to enter the hall, much less vote.”
He then invoked Standing Order 100 and declared Tajuddin’s vote for the motion to be passed invalid.
Offering his side of the matter, Tajuddin insisted that he was not ordered to leave the lower House, but that he voluntarily left to attend to business outside Parliament.
“I did not fight when (Rashid) later said that he had ordered me to leave and suspended me because, on God (lillahi ta’ala), I am a Muslim and I did not want to waste time,” he said, to which Khalid Samad (Shah Alam-PH) quipped: “You are wasting time now.”
Hannah Yeoh (Segambut-PH) had then labelled Rashid’s conduct as “problematic”, alleging that the order in question had never been issued since no MPs could attest to having heard the ruling.
After persistent requests to speak, Teo Nie Ching (Kulai-PH) managed to interject and questioned how the suspension could be valid if the MP did not know that he had been sentenced to the punishment.
“He (Tajuddin) did not know that he was suspended, but (Rashid) said that he was. How is this fair?”
Yesterday, Azhar had said that he will review his deputy’s imposition of the suspension on Tajuddin, following objections to the uncertain manner of its execution.
He said this after Teo sought a ruling from the speaker under Standing Order 36(12), accusing Rashid of misleading the House, in reference to Rashid’s decision last Tuesday to suspend Tajuddin for two days over his indecent outburst in the Dewan Rakyat, which took effect retroactively beginning the day of the incident on July 20.
The DAP lawmaker, however, quoted a July 20 Hansard as noting that Tajuddin had remained in the House throughout the proceeding that day, which should have rendered his suspension invalid.
On July 26, Rashid ruled that Tajuddin be handed a two-day suspension beginning the day of his outburst, when he was supposedly ejected, which did not impress the opposition.
It was pointed out that the deputy speaker did not in fact eject the Umno lawmaker.
The ensuing shouting match then saw Kasthuriraani Patto (Batu Kawan-PH) ejected from the House instead. – The Vibes, August 2, 2022
